Valve mechanism.



E. D. BARRETT L I.`B. WOOD.

VALVE MBOHANISM.

APPLIOATION mum JULY 13, 1911.

1,01 3,725. Patented Jan. 2, 1912.

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Patented Jaim., 2&912.

York, have9 invented new and useful lm-J provements in Valve Mechanisms,of which the following is a specification.

` u J. l This invention relates to certain improve 1o ments' in I,automatic/ valve mechanisms,

' adapted lto 'supply predetermined amounts oi 'fluid Aunder pressure tosuitable receptaeles and especially to bowls or basins of sanitaryapparatus. Heretofore the valve Itmechanisms of this general type havebeen i either extremel vcomplicated in construction or Aelse so cru'e asto be commercially of little valve and in either eventthey were more orless unsuccessful in operation owing zo to the frequent adjustmentrequired in orderV to renderv the same operative under the varyingconditions ot supply4 and demand. ln many cases moreover certain oi'these valves were wholly inoperative' it the pressure exceeded a certainmaximum point, as

in many of the modern oiiice buildings, or if the pressure tell below acertain required minimum often found in the modern residence as thenormal pressure therein.

The objects of the present invention consist in the provision of aneconomical, durable yet simple and efficient valve mechanism, whichowing to its containing; but a minimum of elements can be readilydismantled or assembled and yet which `Will withal eiectually controlthe flow` of fluid there through under Wide ranges of pressure.

rl`he said invention is set forth. iii detail in the followingspecifications, reference be Which- Figure l is a vertical sectionalview including the axis of the inlet pipe, Fig. 2 is a similar Viewalong1 the line 22 ot' llig. i,

ing had to the accompanying drawings, in

including the axes of the fluid-Ways, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical section View of a modification, all of the improvedvalve mechanisms.

l ,erring to the drawings and the opera-A tion of the valve mechanismtherein shown,

bottom thereofsaid outlet being connected 4in any Jsuitable manner,

.its upper and l reterably by means of a couplingy l and gaslret 5 to apipe 6 oil any suitable sanitary lapparatus. A transverse -aperturedpartition 7, provided with fa' suitable vali/essai 8, projects acrossthe interior of said casing, preferably at a level slightly aber/e, asshown, the level oit the flowerinost portion ot the inlet opening, .thesaid partition, merging in a gradual curve, or substantially circularcurve, with the `dovrei' Wall of said inlet pipe. v The cylindricalcasing is provided at its upper eind with an apertured screw-cap 9,fwhich, as shown, is adapted to be threaded onto the i'fiaiiged boss orextension l0. Said cap is substantially hollow being provided with apassage l1 intermediate its upper and loiiver faces. The passage issubstantially` circular` and serves to aiiord communication between anaperture 12, centrally positioned inthe lower face of said' cap, and anannular chamber 13, formed in the boss l0, the said annular chambercomprising the respective terminals for two oppositely disposed iluidWays lltcoiinecting said chamber with the outlet chamber of thevalve-casing at a point below the apertured partition 7 A suitableperforated disk-Washer l5, positioned intermediate said cap 9 and theupper end of thel casing l, serves to edectually seal the upper endofsaid casing against the escape of fluid vfrom the pressure chamber 16,which,

as shown, is formed at the upper end of said V cylindrical casing.

il. main valve-element or piston 17 prelerabiy consisting of a singlepiece of casting, `boing ot cylindrical coniiguration at wer ends andoit' a conguration ot sup` ,L sed cone :frusta intermediate said ends,one .said cone frusta being oppositely disposed with. respect to theoil-ier, is adapted to reciprocate Within the inlet chamber 18 and thepressure chamber 1C 'which pressure chamber is a continuation of saidinlet chamber, and separated therefrom by the upper end of said' piston,This upper end of the piston as indicated 'at the points designated bythe reference letter Li is oi considerably less cross-sectional areathan said pressure chamber or said inlet chamber and preferably theextremity 20 of this upper end of the piston is detachable and isadapted to be threaded into said hollow or upper end. ils shown auannular groove forming a ywall Iof the casing 1 A cup washer 21,?

which as shown is'secured between the rit-' movable threaded end 2 0 andthe upper endc of the reduced' neck` portion 19 ro'ects downwardlybetween inner wall) otil the casing 1 and the reduced Aneck portion 19,and as is well known thereby serves when expanded by the pressure. ofthe water flowing upwardly from the 'inlet 2 and against the 'samer toelfectually seal the passage 'd intermediatev the outermost end' of theextremity and the innermost wall ofthe casin 1, against. t-he passage of20 liquid theret rough and into the pressure chamber. Owing however-tothe fact that the said lpiston at its points of greatest cross sect1onas# designated vby the. reference let-tera is,'as. stated, ofsubstantially less cross sectional area than the internalcross-sectional area of the casing, any water confined abovezsaidcupwasher can freely escape argund said vcup washer during the l upwardmovement of the piston, notwith 3o standing the fact thatupon thedownward movement of the piston, owing to theexpansion of the cup washerby the pressure of the water entering from said inlet, the waterconfined in the pressure chamber above said cup washercannot escape fromsaid pressure chamber. This`cup washer construction is employed for therezlson that an expansible packing of this nature ,permits of the saidvalve operating under all conditions and pressures as lng: as thecup-washer subserves its function of expansion, whereas, were the pistonma'de to have a'tight fit either by grinding the'same so that 1t wassubstantially of .the same cross-sectional area as. the internalcrossvsectional area of the brush chamber or supplied with a leather or,rubber gasket to render the same tight fitting therein,

it has been found that the uniform and 50V positive operation which isabove obtained 1s difficult ifnot impossible of obtainment.

Preferably,' a stop 22,`which is adjustable by threading the same intothe aperture 23 in said piston is provided in order to limit the upwardmovement of said piston, and facilitate the regulation of the eriod offlow of water through the outlet in thev apertured partition. AAsshownthe lower end of said piston element e is of substantially the samecross-sectional area. as the upper; end of saidl piston element at thepoints a'which designate the points of greatest cross-sectional arca. Aleather or rubber washer or so-called valve eis secured within anannular recess as shown,

`formed inthe bottom of said lowermost end e, said valve being removablysecured thereto b means of a nut d, and said valve is 'of su cient'cross-sectional karea to ex.-

completely across the main aperture "an ysaid 'partition 7, whereby itserves to ejectually close said aperture upon engagementof said valvewith the annular valve 8 surrounding the central aperture in vsaiartition. A uid inlet-way 24 serves to connect an aperture 25, whichextends through the wall of the inlet chamber, with an a erture Theprovision of the needle-valve at the inlet end of said inlet-way thusinsures of the exact regulation oi' the flow `of water into said way andalso complete elimination of any pressure that would tend to burst theWalls of said way. Said needle-valve is `preferably threaded into a boss29 of said casing vand a closure-cap 30 lis threaded onto said yboss inorder to conceal said adjusting screw and to prevent-accidental orintentional rotation thereof. As shown the inlet 25 to said inletfluid-way affords communication between the inlet chamber 18 it isropposite the oint of juncture of the two cone frusta.

enters the inlet chamber.

The said cap 9, as shown, is provided with a perforation in each of itsfaces and in said perforations is journaledthe shank 31, of areciprocating push-button element havin a pus "-button 32'secu'red toits outer en Said element is ,elastically mounted'within a thimble 33,'which is threaded into an annular boss 34, that is integral 'with theupper portionof the said cap. A suitable packing 35 serves to preventthe escape of iiuid from the passage 11 into the casing containing. thecoil-spring 36; The aperture in the lower face of said cap is e aperture25 receiyes the water under maximum pressure as 1tadapted to receive theinner reduced end of saidshank 31, the said shank lbeing suffiientlyreduced to permit of the free passage of water intermediate the wallform; ing said aperture and the shank, when the same is in its lowermostposition. At the inner end of said shank is an' inte al annular fia-nge37, to which is secured the vexible valve-face 3S by means of a nut, ofany ordinary type 39. Said Valve-face is obviously of greaterdiameterthan the seat 4() which forms' the peripheral wall .of saidaperture, While the said flange is adapted to fit snugly within saidaperture A-v{itu-regoing description.

when the shank is -in its uppermost position, although the said flangeprojects wholly below the seat il() when the pushb'uitton is depressed.

The operation oi' the mechanism shown in Figs. l and 2 is'ohvious inView ofthe M In fact i it is soi -eirtremelysimple owing to the minimum`sure being greater upon the upper cone frustuin than upon the lower conefrus tuin, and the absence of an opposing pressure in said pressurechamber owing to the free escape of water therefrom during the upwardmovement of said piston. Third. The passage of the fluid directly fromthe lluid inlet-main through the apertured partition into the outletchamber or outlet main and the simultaneous passage of a restrictedamount of water through 'the opening 25, controlled by the needle-valve,

and thence throughthe fluid inlet-way and the aperture 26, into thepressure chamber 16, and fourth, the seating of the said piston due tothe pressure of the water confined in said 'pressure chamber exceedingthe amountof pressure upwardly exerted against the valve face e when :inan elevated position, or the pressure :represented by the differencebetween the pressure downwardly exerted upon the lower cone frustuni andthe pressure upwardly exerted upon the upper cone frustum by thei'ntlowing iluid from the inlet main when the valve is in the zone inwhich the indou/ing fluid is capable of exerting pressure both upwardlyand downwardly. The elevated position of the apertured partition shownin Fig. l and the curviliueal web connecting' said'partition with theinlet pipe as heretofore described, Serve to deflect the indou/ing,`fluid against the under `laces' of the flexible valve-facce as indicatedby the arrow ain-ai, and also serve to detlectthe fluid in thedirection indicated by the arrow g/fz/ against the periphery of theupper cone frustum and thus more eiectually serve to induce the upwardmovement of the piston iminediately upon the release of pressure fromabove the same which is exerted by iiuid when confined in said inletchamber throughout 'the period that the .necdlewalve in unseated'sutliciently to permit of the liow of fluid to the fluid inlet-way.Moreover, since the timate vContact of a plug or other projection withthe inner walls of said aperture 'or by suction due to the currentotiiuid which passes in a large volume through the said apertureimmediately the piston element is elevated.

ln Fig. 3 is illustrated a -modilication which is adapted to be actuatedby a crank or handle in which the said piston element is provided with adownward extension adapted to extend through the aperture in thetransverse partit-ion, preferably without contact with the inner wallsof said aperture,

an element operated by said. crankl The construction therein shownconsists of alcasing l having an inlet 2' and an outlet 3', and asupplemental casing 1 secured preferably by threaded engagementv to saidoutlet end 3'. Saidv casing l is'laterally extended to permit of itsserving as a bearing for a j ournal n upon which is mounted acontact'element o which is secured' to and adapted to be actuated by acrank p which projects externally of the casing" l". As shown in thisconstruction, fluidways similar to the fluid'n waysflll 'shown in theconstruction ot Fies.

l and 2 are dispensed with, as the action ot' Ithe flexible cup-washer2l is such that when the piston is forced upwardly through the agency ofthe stem Lll and the operating lever or crank p, the water can freelyescape downwardly around said cup-washer at a il much greater rate thanthe rate of influx into the pressure chamber 16 through theneedle valveand the inlet-Way 24C. Moreover, the

upper end of the inlet-way is preferably sealed as shown by animperforate annular gasket 15. The stem 4l 1s preferably rigidly seouredto the lower end-of the piston element 17 and is somewhat lenlarged atits top'17 in the form of an inverted cone fnustum whereby, as isevident, 'it almost but not quite engages with the vertical inner wallsof the central aperture 8 of said partition 7', and thus while avoidingthe objections heretofore noted, as regards skin frictionand suctionwhen a close'litting exten- -sion projects into and contacts With theaperture in the partition, the flow of the water is gradually retardedand diminished in volume as the piston approaches its seat 8. Therebythe requisite after-6.1i intov a A{if} whichhxtension is adapted toengage with "ber. Th'eheedle-valve itself as shown, has

bowl or basin is permitted.` .Asshown also in the constructions in allof the gures,`the' opening intothe fluid inlet-way 24;', designated asaperture 25-,'is in the line of travel of the piston so that the lowerends of .the

upper portion as designated bythe reference letters a and a', Awill tendto impinge against and'` thereby automatically cleanse said apertureand, prevent clogging of the same by foreign .particles such as sand andother impurities.;v 'It is' evident that any particles that escape intothe inlet-ways 24: and .24',

will be sufficiently small Jto yreadily pass through the same land alsoJthrough the aperture 26 which .opens into the 'pressure cham- "a bluntehdand the aperture 25 is preferably -at least one-sixteenth of an inchin construc- -and having an inletopening and an outlet openingrespectively, a transverse partition, provided. with an aperture,positioned between said inlet opening and said outlet opening, allongitudinally reciprocatable piston-element positioned lin saidpressure chamber above said partition, and adapted to normally sealcommunication through the aperture in said partition, said piston beingloosely mounted in said pressurechamber and being free to movetransversely therein when unseated, in response to the pressure of waterentering through the inlet-opening of said casing, and said. pistonhaving a maximum cross-sectional area substantially less than thecross-sectional area of said pressure-chamber, whereby said piston whenseated is normally out of contact with the Wall of said casing, saidmaximum cross-sectional area of said piston being suficiently great toadmit of frictional engagement between a portion of the wall of saidpiston and aportionl of the wall of said casing when said piston movestrans- 'versely therein during its travel within said casing in responseto said pressure of inlowing water, flexible valvular means secured tosaid piston capable of projecting beyond the outermost lateral limits ofand completely surrounding the same, permitting of uni-directional'passage only of luid intermediate said pistonand. the wall of saidpressure chamber, a conduit provided with a terminal aperture positionedin the wall of said casing at a point intermediate the upper and lowerends .ot said piston Awhen seated on said partition, said conduitpermitting of thc permanent influx oil? fluid into said pressure chamberat a Jsubstantially less rate than the rate of the unijto saidilexiblevalvular means miams directional flow A around said.piston-element permitted by safiiltkg'vtieiiible valvular means, andmeans independent of and supplemental 'or optionally permitting'theelllux of 'fluid from said pressure chamber at a greater rate than therate of influx thereto.

2. In an automatic valve mechanism, the combination comprising a casing,provided with a pressure chamber at one end thereof, and having an inletopening and an outlet opening respectively, a transverse partition,provided with an aperture positioned between said inlet opening and saidoutlet opening, a longitudinally reciprocatable piston-elementpositioned in said pressure' chamber above said partition, and adaptedto normally seal communication through the laperture in said`partition,said piston being loosely mounted in said pressurechamber and'being freeto move transversely therein when unseated, in response to the pressureof water entering through the inlet-opening of said casing, and saidpiston having a maximum cross-sectional area substantially less than thecross-sectional area. of said pressure-chamber, whereby said piston whenseated is 'normally out' of contact with the wall of said casing, saidmaximum cross-sectional areaof said piston be- 'ing sufficiently greatto admit of frictional engagement between a portion of the wall of saidpiston and a portion of the wall of said casing when said piston movestransversely therein during its travel within said casing in response tosaid pressure of inflowing water, flexible valvular means secured tosaid piston capable of projecting beyond the outermost lateral limits ofand completely surrounding the same, permitting of 4the uni-directionalpassage only of Vfluid intermediate said piston and the wall of saidpressure chamber, and av conduit provided with a terminal aperturepositioned in the wall of said casing at a point intermedia-te the upperand lower ends of said piston when seated on said partitionn saidconduit permitting of the permanent influx of fluid into said pressurechamber at a substantially less rate than the rate of theuni-dircctionalilow around said piston-element permitted by saidileXiblevalvular' means.

3. Tn an automatic valve mechanism, the combination comprising vacasing, provided with a pressure chamber at one end thereof, and havingran inlet and outlet opening respectively, a. transverse partitionpositioned between said inlet and outlet opening and above `the level ofthclowermost portion of said inlet opening, said partition beingprovided with an aperture, a longitudinally ref'iproratable pistonelement positioned in said pressure chamber above said partition andadapted to normally seal communica- .cup-washer, secured to said pistonadjacent l tion through the aperture in said partition, the saidpistonbeing loos-el;7 mounted inA said pressure-eliamber and being free to,more transversel)1 therein when unseated. in Q response to the pressureo'l water entering through the inlet-opening ot' said casingT and saidpiston having a maximum erossi sectional area. substantiallyY less thanthe cross-sectional area of said pressurecham- 1 ber, whereby7 saidpiston when seated is. normally out of contaet with the wall of saidcasing, said maximum @oss-sectional area of said piston beingsullieientlv great to admit of frietional enga'igenient between aportion of the wall of said piston and a. portion of the wall of saideasing when said piston nieves transversely therein during its travelwithin said casing in response to said pressure of intlowing water and aportion of said piston having a eontiguration corresponding tosuper-posed eone frusta inverted with respect to each other, a flexiblethe upper end thereof and completely suri rounding the same, permittinguni-direc-y tional passage only of fluid intern'iediate said piston andthe wall of said pressure chamber, a conduit provided with a terminalaperture positioned in the wall of said casing at a point intermediatethe upper and lower ends of said piston when seated on said partition,said corduit permitting of the permanent influx of fluid into saidpressure chamber at a substantiall \Y less rate than the rate of theuni-directional flow around said piston-element permitted by said exiblecup-Washer, and controlling means provided with a relatively blunt end,adapted to be projected into proximity to said aperture in said easing'wall, for regulatingthe passage of liquid through said aperture and forbattling the passage of solid particles therethrough.

4. In an automatic valve mechanism, the combination comprising a easing,provided with a pressure chamber at one end thereof, and having an inletopening and an outlet opening respectively, a transwrse partitimi,provided With an aperture, positioned bei pressure of water enteringthrough the inlet-opening of said casing, and said piston haring amaximum cross-sectional area substantially less than the crosslsectionalarea 0f said pressure-chamber, whereby said piston when seated isnormally out of contact with the. wall of said easing, said maximumcross-sectional area of said piston being sufficiently great to admit offrietional engagement between a portion of the Wall of said piston and aportion of the Wall of said easing when said vpiston moves transverselytherein during its travel within said easing in response to saidpressure of inliowing water, flexible valvular means secured to said'piston capable of projecting beyond the outermost lateral limits of andcompletely surrounding the same, permitting of uni-directional passageont;7 of fluid intermediate said pistonvand the wall of said pressurechamber, and a conduitprovided with a terminal aperture positioned linthe wall of said easing at a point in a. di'erent quadrant thereof from.that in which said inlet opening is positioned, said conduit permittingof the permanent influx of fluid into said pressure chamber at asubstantially lessA rate than the rate of the uni-directional flowaround said pistonelement permitted by said exible valvular means.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto set ou:` hands at the city ofNewYork, county and State of New York, this 30th day of Tune, 1911.

ERNEST D. BARRETT. IRVING B. WOOD.

Witnesses t TV. H. SwnNAn'roN, CLARENCE J. WYoKorr.

